SAN JOSE, Calif. – Former Jungle Fight middleweight champion Marcelo Guimaraes has but one setback in nine career fights – a 2010 draw with Gilmar de Andrade.

Guimaraes has since put together six consecutive wins to leave behind the frustration of that night. Well, almost behind.

You see, recent “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” cast member Rodrigo Damm was the referee for that contest, and Guimaraes believes Damm did everything he could to prevent a “Magrao” victory.

“I was facing a striker,” Guimaraes told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in his native Portuguese. “He was a black belt in 10 martial arts. My strategy was to take him down and strike him on the mat. Every time I got a takedown, we would get stood up.

“During one of the rounds, as soon as I got a takedown, we got stood up so Rodrigo could return the mouthguard. He waited for the takedown since he had the mouthguard with him since the start of the round. Everyone saw it. He had no shame.”

Guimaraes believes Damm’s judgments were influenced by his disdain for Alexandre “Caveira” Ferreira, Guimaraes’ head trainer.

“Because he does not like my trainer, he made calls against me during the fight,” Guimaraes said. “So I ended up with this draw on my record.”

Guimaraes requested and received an immediate rematch with de Andrade, which took place at Jungle Fight 17. This time, Damm was fighting on the card instead of officiating, and Guimaraes earned a decision win. It was the first of six Jungle Fight victories for Guimaraes, who earned the promotion’s middleweight title in the process.

The run earned him a call from the UFC, and Guimaraes now drops to welterweight to meet Dan Stittgen (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the Facebook-streamed preliminary card of tonight’s UFC on FUEL TV 4 event, which takes place at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

“He has a lot of victories by submission,” Guimaraes said. “That’s his most common path to victory. He has good jiu-jitsu and wrestling. I expect his striking to be good.

“I see him as a complete fighter. He’s athletic and has some victories by unanimous decision. I think he has good skills like mine. I expect it to be a good fight.”

Stittgen looks for his first octagon victory after Stephen Thompson finished him in highlight-reel fashion at February’s UFC 143 event. Guimaraes compared the high-kick knockout to a “Mortal Kombat” kill but said it does not lower his opinion of his opponent.

“It was his UFC debut, and he got knocked out,” Guimaraes said. “It was a ‘fatality,’ but that can happen to anyone. Unfortunately it happened to him. If not for that kick, the fight could have played out very differently.”

And so Guimaraes is approaching Stittgen like the most dangerous opponent he’s ever faced. At 29 years old, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt boasts 10 years of martial-arts training, and he’s not letting the opportunity in front of him slip away.

“I am inspired by the chance to improve my social status, to have a better life, to have my own home, to help my family and to start my own family,” Guimaraes said. “Fighting can open doors for me. I’ll have to knock someone else down so I can climb closer to my goal.

“I think my strength, not only physical, but mental, no one can match. I don’t think there’s anyone with an inner strength as great as mine. That’s what allows me to supersede my limits every day. For someone to take my dream away, they would have to have a much grater inner strength. I think that’s very unlikely. I also put God first. He brought me this far, and I know I’ll reach greater heights.”

And this time, that damned Damm won’t be there to take anything away.

“To be truthful, as far as I’m concerned, I was robbed,” Guimaraes said. “A few weeks later, I faced the same opponent, and I clearly beat him. I didn’t only fight Gilmar. I fought both against Gilmar and Rodrigo.

“I know Rodrigo is now in the UFC. I don’t root for him or against him, but I think what goes around comes around. What one does in one place, one pays for it in another. It’s karma. I’m sure he’ll pay some way.”

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